The Accountant for Incorporated Contractors
Updated
You’re on site all day, not chasing receipts. EverStone CPA looks after the corporate tax, T5018s, GST and books for contractors and trades across Abbotsford and the Fraser Valley, at fixed fees quoted up front. See what it costs.
Quick answer: A contractor accountant handles the tax side of running an incorporated trade or consulting business: the T2 corporate return, GST filings, payroll if there are employees, and the yearly salary-versus-dividend decision. EverStone works with incorporated contractors across BC online, confirming a fixed fee in writing after we review your enquiry.
If your work is construction specifically, the construction and trades accounting hub gathers the holdback, T5018 and job-costing material into a single annotated index.
On this page
- Four ways to work with us
- An accountant who understands contracting
- The problems we fix
- From first email to filed
- Accounting for your trade, specifically
- The T5018 deadline, explained
- Serving trades across the Fraser Valley
- Contractor tax FAQ
- Accountants for contractors in BC
- Run your own numbers first
- Contractor accountants by city
Four ways to work with us
Contractors usually need one of these. Pick the closest and the quote form opens with it selected.
Annual year-end
Your books are kept, by you or a bookkeeper. You need the year-end, the T2 and the T5018 slips filed properly.
Monthly accounting
Books, GST and payroll handled every month, with job income and costs kept where you can see them.
Catch-up records
A year or more behind, receipts missing or GST unfiled. Brought current oldest year first, quoted before we start.
Reporting and oversight
Job margins, holdbacks and a cash forecast for contractors growing past what the bank balance can tell them.
An accountant who understands contracting
Contracting isn’t like other businesses. Income lands in lumps, materials and equipment eat cash, subcontractors need T5018s, and the CRA looks hard at subcontractor-versus-employee arrangements. Your accounting should be built around that reality, not a generic template.
EverStone works with incorporated electricians, plumbers, framers, excavators, finishers and GCs across the Fraser Valley. One CPA handles your year-end, your filings and your questions — all year, for a fixed fee.
Get your fixed quoteWhat contractors get
- T2 corporate tax & year-end statements
- T5018 subcontractor information returns
- GST/PST filed & reconciled
- Bookkeeping that handles job costs & equipment
- Salary-vs-dividend planning every year
- CRA correspondence handled for you
The problems we fix
The patterns we see on almost every new contractor file.
Missed instalments & deadlines
Lumpy income makes tax instalments easy to miss, and CRA interest adds up fast. We plan your instalments around your cash flow.
Unclaimed write-offs
Vehicle, tools, home office, equipment CCA — contractors routinely leave deductions on the table. We capture them properly and defensibly.
Subcontractor vs. employee risk
The CRA reclassifying your subs as employees is expensive. We structure and document arrangements the right way from the start.
GST filed late or wrong
Progress billing and holdbacks make GST messy. We reconcile it to your books and file on schedule, every time.
Books that don’t match the bank
DIY books drift. We keep yours reconciled monthly so year-end is painless and lenders get numbers they trust.
Paying yourself inefficiently
The wrong salary/dividend mix quietly costs thousands a year. We optimize it annually as part of your engagement.
From first email to filed
Three steps, mostly handled online around your schedule.
Email enquiry
Tell us about your operation — structure, subs, backlog. You get a fixed quote in writing.
We take over the paperwork
Books, GST, T5018s, payroll and year-end — handled. You get plain-English updates, not jargon.
You keep building
Filed on time, optimized every year, and a CPA on call when decisions come up.
Accounting for your trade, specifically
Every trade has its own tax quirks. We know them.
Electricians
Tool and equipment write-offs, van/CCA claims, and progress-billing GST handled cleanly — whether you’re a one-owner shop or running a crew.
Plumbers & HVAC
Inventory and parts, warranty holdbacks and multi-job costing tracked properly, so your margins are visible and your GST is right.
Framers & general contractors
Subcontractor T5018s, holdback accounting and sub-versus-employee risk managed — the areas the CRA scrutinizes most in construction.
Excavation & site work
Heavy-equipment depreciation, fuel and repair tracking, and financing structured so big-ticket purchases work in your favour at tax time.
Painters & finishing trades
Materials, mileage between jobs and seasonal cash flow planned around, with instalments timed so lumpy income never catches you out.
Landscaping & concrete
Seasonal payroll, equipment CCA and GST on mixed supply-and-install work handled, and WorkSafeBC remittances kept on schedule.
The T5018 deadline, explained
If more than half your business income comes from construction and you pay subcontractors, the CRA requires an annual T5018 Statement of Contract Payments. It’s due six months after your reporting-period end, and you can report on either a calendar or fiscal-year basis, whichever suits your books.
Miss it and the CRA levies penalties per slip. We track your subcontractor payments through the year, file the T5018 on time, and keep your records ready in case the CRA asks questions — it’s part of your engagement, not an add-on.
Get your T5018 handledT5018 at a glance
Who: construction businesses paying subcontractors.
WorkSafeBC too
We keep your WorkSafeBC (WCB) payroll reporting and remittances on schedule alongside your GST and source deductions.
Serving trades across the Fraser Valley
Local, and on your schedule — wherever your jobs take you.
Contractor tax FAQ
Do I need to file a T5018 for my subcontractors?+
Should I pay myself salary or dividends from my incorporated contracting business?+
Can you help me catch up if I’m behind on bookkeeping or tax filings?+
What does an accountant cost for a contractor in the Fraser Valley?+
Can I write off my truck as a contractor?+
What is personal services business risk, and does it apply to me?+
How should holdbacks be treated at year-end?+
Accountants for contractors in BC
Contractors need an accountant who understands holdbacks, subcontractor slips, equipment and the gap between billing and getting paid. We work with incorporated contractors and trades across BC, including Surrey, Langley, Chilliwack and Maple Ridge, and online in Alberta, Ontario and Manitoba.
Run your own numbers first
No sign-up — quick calculators and straight answers from the CPA who does the work.
What owners say about working with us
Rated 5.0 on Google across 21 client reviews.
“…We switched to him last year for both our personal and small-business taxes — responsive, knowledgeable and quick.”
“Personal. Professional. Responsive. Plus he saved me a bundle!”
“…He is very knowledgeable and has saved me tons in taxes by restructuring my group of companies — the best accountant I’ve worked with in the last 10 years, after switching from three different firms.”
Two deductions come up on nearly every contractor file: home office costs claimed through the corporation, which works differently from the employee claim, and the bonus-versus-dividend decision once you know what the year actually earned.
If you want a low-commitment way to test whether your current setup is working, a free second opinion on last year’s corporate return takes two documents and costs nothing.
Locally, see contractors in Maple Ridge for the Ridge Meadows detail.
Trades-specific pages set out what changes by province and by local job mix: trades accountant in Abbotsford, trades accountant in Mission, Aldergrove, Vancouver. Each covers the sales tax position, subcontractor reporting and holdback timing that apply there.
Island contractors have a page of their own: contractor accounting in Victoria, with the same T5018, WorkSafeBC and GST/PST handling and no sailing required.
If the assessment puts you in the middle or high band, the next step is a written review of your actual arrangement. See have your PSB exposure reviewed.
Related reading
Guides and tools that go deeper on what this page covers.
Contractor accountants by city
Each city page covers the provincial rules that apply to the work there.
- British Columbia: Chilliwack, Langley, Surrey, Maple Ridge, Victoria, Kelowna
- Alberta: Edmonton
- Manitoba: Winnipeg
- Ontario: Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, London, St. Catharines, Windsor, Oshawa, Barrie
- British Columbia: Abbotsford, Mission, Aldergrove, Vancouver
- Alberta: Calgary
- Ontario: Toronto, Ottawa
Starting fees
Every fee is fixed in writing before any work begins.
- Monthly bookkeeping, GST/PST filing includedfrom $325 a month
- Payroll, remittances, T4s and ROEsincluded in monthly bookkeeping
- Books, payroll and the year-end T2 together$500–$700 a month
- Corporate year-end and T2 returnfixed fee, quoted in writing
- Personal tax return (T1)from $125; self-employed or rental $275–$500
- Catch-up bookkeepingfrom $2,200 per year of records
- Controller or CFO supportcontroller from $1,650, CFO from $2,750 a month
- One-off advice call with a CPA$225 plus GST
Get your evenings back
Send an enquiry. Bring your questions, your backlog, or both. You’ll leave with a clear fixed quote and a plan.
Related: For incorporated professionals
Related: Construction-specific accounting
Specialized accounting
Contractor accountant in Surrey Contractor accountant in Langley
Working in the Fraser Valley? We have a page specifically for equipment-heavy trades in Mission.
Building in the eastern valley? See contractors and trades in Chilliwack.
Running a production shop? See small manufacturers in Maple Ridge.
Reading up first? The If you contract through a company gathers the classification, subcontractor, equipment and owner-pay guides that apply to an incorporated trade.
Bringing on your first crew member? Hiring an employee vs a contractor sets out the commitments and the risk on each side.
We work with Langley trades and construction companies — same fixed-fee approach, entirely remote.
We work with Surrey contractors and subtrades — same fixed-fee approach, entirely remote.
Talk to a CPA about this
One Chartered Professional Accountant, start to finish. Fixed fees, quoted in writing before any work begins, and no obligation from a first conversation.
“…have been completing my bookkeeping, taxes and financials for the last 2 years and they have been amazing. Thank you!”
